we’re a mess

You might end up thinking that you are a mess, that there is no way to fix you.

You have too many problems, issues. You overreact, can’t manage anger, don’t earn enough money, have a terrible job, have health issue with teeth and knees and so on.

You might even make a list and the list would be so long to be intimidating.

As a whole, it’s a sum of problems so giant it can’t be solved.

But as single problems they can all be solved or at least improved.
You might focus on your knee, find out that you need some extra cushoning in the shoes, and start stretching more, and maybe in a few months you’ll be able to run. Maybe it’ll take a year, but would that matter?

After that, you could work on changing job, you start looking for a new one

And while this happens the list shrink a little bit. You’re still a mess and the list is overwhelming, but in a few years maybe you’ll look at a different list.